On Sept. 13, an arson fire destroyed Jesus the Christ Church Community Center, Best Cuts Barber Shop, and Court House Bistro on North Sixth Street.

Last month's Main Street fire is still under investigation. The south side of the 600 block is still scarred by burned businesses — Main Street Jukebox, DaVinci Café and Atomic Mary Digital — yet to be demolished.

About 100 firefighters from throughout the area responded.

Stroudsburg Zoning Officer Jeff Wilkins said Thursday that insurance companies are now probing the disaster.

Last year, a fire devastated the north side of the 600 block including Leonardo's Pizza, owned by Rafael Lugones. Lugones also owns the DaVinci Café site.

Wilkins explained, "We don't want to rush demolition of the buildings because we want to know what the cause of the fire is. After the 2005 fire across the street, we pushed to have the buildings torn down because the facades were in danger of collapsing. That's not the case in this fire."

How it changed the community: Buildings that have burned and are replaced are more fire-proof than the originals. The fire code for new construction is much tougher than it is for the downtown's old buildings. When the damaged Main Street buildings are reconstructed, fire suppression and detection systems will be required.

"Sprinklers, smoke detectors, and fire stoppage equipment is required," said Wilkins. All buildings are required to have fire extinguishers as well.

Wilkins urges property owners to make sure that all fire suppression and stoppage systems are working properly, and if they're not, make sure they're fixed. Smoke detectors are a must.

"I like to say to people that fire suppression systems save buildings, but smoke detectors save lives," said Wilkins.

Looking ahead: Aardvark Sports Shop, damaged by smoke, has reopened. A faint odor of smoke still permeates the store, a reminder that it could have been much worse.

"We were closed for ten days after the fire," said manager Patricia D'Imperio, "but things have picked up since we reopened, and the community has been wonderfully supportive."

Keller Williams Real Estate moved back to its old location on North Ninth Street while cleanup continues in the Main Street location. Stoeckel's jewelry store will probably reopen in early 2007.

Across the street at the site of the 2005 fire, a sign has gone up at one of the two new stores: Coming soon: Bahara International Food Market and Deli.

The burned buildings on Sixth Street are still standing. "As far as I know those buildings could be torn down tomorrow," said Wilkins, adding that cleanup after a fire can be complicated.